


Someone's Waiting for You

by FrostOverlord



Series: The Spirit and the Hare [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Movie, Singing, The Wind loves her baby, but she can't do much for him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 06:02:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2139789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostOverlord/pseuds/FrostOverlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wind loves her child, her Winter, with all that she is, but she knows that she cannot sustain him with her love alone.</p><p>She also knows that, somewhere out there, there is someone that can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone's Waiting for You

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to "Goodbye May Seem Forever."
> 
> Please ignore the strange spacing.

The Wind. A force of nature as old as the Earth and Sea. She has seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations, ever the watcher in the sky, never interfering in the goings-on of mortals. She has been alone for as long as she can remember, for sister Earth and brother Sea do not make good companions, until the day that Winter is born. Oh, the winter season has existed before this day, but never before had it taken physical form in the way that some spirits do. The Wind doesn’t care _why_ Winter has taken physical form, or why the Moon is whispering to him through the trees, all she cares about is that she finally, _finally_ has someone to call her own. For the instant the boy takes up his staff, The Wind knows that this child is hers.

She watches him paint the trees in frost, and as he skates across his place of birth she giggles in her silent way. Then the Wind sweeps him up, pulling him laughing into the sky to show him his first glimpse of the world, and to show the world that he is her child. He looks at the land in wonder, and the world holds its breath in awe. Then, in a flit of mischievous fancy so common to the wind, she drops her child into the waiting arms of the trees. He lands roughly, but they both know that he is fine. The Wind would never harm her Winter, for she loves him with all that she is.

The love of the Wind, however, will never be enough to sustain her child. She knows this, and the lesson is ground home when the mortals pass him by in their ignorant way. The Wind cannot abide her child’s tears, and so she sings. She knows that he does not understand her words of encouragement, but whenever her song reaches his ears, he still takes comfort in it.

“Be brave little one.” She tells him when another day goes by that he is ignored by the world.  
“Make a wish for each sad little tear,” she croons, when he cries in his frustration, “Hold your head up though no one is near.”  
“Someone's waiting for you.”

The years pass and the Wind watches her child grow into his role as Winter. He becomes the frost on the windowsills, and the gentle snowfall of a bright winter’s day. Against all odds he finds ways to bring joy into his sad little life; playing in the snow with the children of man, dancing atop frozen lakes and lacing his laugher into the clouds themselves. He remains lonely, but he makes the Wind proud by turning his loneliness into wisdom. He learns, and he plays. He is the Fool that jokes and smiles, and he is the Hermit who watches and listens, and the Wind needs to sing her comforts to him less and less as the years pass him by. Still though, there are those times when by chance he glances past the glass as he paints his frost, and his eyes lock upon the scene of a family sitting warm in front of their fireplace.

Happy. Smiling. Together.

He sees that which he wants the most, yet cannot have. No matter how much she loves her winter child, the Wind cannot give him a home. A family. A place to belong. But she knows that there is more out there for her child, that there is someone who can give him what he wants most. That someday his wishes would be fulfilled. So in the meantime the Wind gives him what she _can_ give, and sings to her child once again.

“Don't cry little one,” she whispers as he fights back his envious tears.

“There'll be a smile where a frown use to be,” she murmurs, gracing across his cheek as he turns away from the window, “You'll be part of the love that you see.”  
“Someone's waiting for you.”

And when the day comes that her child refuses to listen, the Wind does not become angry with him. She understands loneliness, though she had never truly known she was lonely until Winter was born. So instead she picks him up and carries him to a place where she is sure he will smile again, singing even as they go.

“Always keep a little prayer in your pocket,” she purrs, directing her child’s sight to the church he was fond of visiting, “and you're sure to see the light.”

He takes the hint, and walked forward to observe. Inside there is a tree dressed in shimmering lights, and outside there are people approaching. Their clothing is plain, their hair unkempt. Some are adults, most are children. All of them are wary of one another. Each is alone in their own right, but as they pass the threshold of the church and speak with the pastor inside a change overcomes them. Winter watches in silence as those without homes and those without families gain, if only for the night, a place to belong. He watches though the night as these people open up gifts that they could never return and sing lovely songs together. He watches as they fall asleep on the pews, tired smiles gracing their features.

He still envies them, the Wind knows this by the frost creeping up the windowsill, but he also seems to understand what she is trying to say. That what he wishes for is not impossible.

“Soon there'll be joy and happiness,” she whispers as he smiles sadly at the scene before him, “and your little world will be bright.”

Her child remains melancholy, but he braves through his doubts and continues to bring winter to others. Soon he plays non-stop, never giving himself time to think upon his loneliness. He puts his heart and soul into making the children of man happy. He smiles and laughs, though his joyful voice belies the waning cheer within his heart. So when the Wind discovers another watcher in the trees, a being who observes her child in quiet fascination, she dances around his furry form happily. She knows, though she doesn’t know how, that the time has finally arrived.

When her child is once more ignored by the children of man, and the tears begin to form, she sings to him with renewed vigor.

“Have faith little one,” she serenades as the watcher in the trees steps forward hesitantly.  
“'Til your hopes and your wishes come true,” she warbles as he offers his paw to her child, “You must try to be brave little one.”

“Someone's waiting to love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This actually wasn't something I was planning to do at first, but I was re-reading the sister to this fic and listening to the song that went with it, and somehow found myself browsing through similar songs on youtube.
> 
> Then I found this one, and was like "Damn. Must do this."
> 
> So yeah, this happened. A little glimpse at the relationship between Jack and the Wind within this little universe. Also technically a songfic, but I played with the formatting a bit to make it different from the other one I did. Hopefully I did well, 'specially near the middle.
> 
> As an aside, I have no clue what's up with the spacing. Something weird carried over from the word document I guess. I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen in the future.


End file.
